Andre Middleton founded Friends of Noise in 2015 with the express intent of creating a sustainable all-ages music venue. Now he’s found a place. BY CHRISTEN McCURDY | PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN Kenton’s Paul Bunyan statue is one of the more memorable landmarks in Portland. So was its across-the-street neighbor, the equally kitschy Dancin’ Bare strip club. But the Dancin’ Bare closed in late 2020, a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2023, Andre Middleton noticed a “For Lease” sign hanging up — the old strip club is across the street from his office — and he got an idea. Middleton is the executive director of Friends of Noise, an organization founded in 2015 to support young people’s involvement in live music. His hope had always been to create a new all-ages venue in Portland, filling a vacuum left by storied locations like Backspace, Meow Meow, La Luna and the X-Ray Cafe. But in the early years, the organization focused on teaching young artists the tools of the trade — including business skills for musicians, as well as how to run sound at concerts. And then 2020 hit. First, there was the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant restrictions on gatherings, which shuttered venues and put an end to live music for audiences of any age. Then Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, and protesters all over the world took to the streets for weeks — longer, in Portland’s case. Friends of Noise responded by producing outdoor concerts in parks and by providing pro bono sound production for about 20 protests in the area. It’s also operated as a sort of talent agency for young musicians in Portland. “Our aspiration is to transform the Portland music scene by giving just nonexploitative energy and support to emerging musicians of any genre,” Middleton says. But the dream of an all-ages venue persisted. Then that “For Lease” sign went up. When OB met with Middleton in August, the organization was in the process of finalizing a lease agreement with Blue Ox Station, the company that bought the former Dancin’ Bare in 2023. The organization has also applied for permits and begun preliminary work to develop the old club into a new venue called the Offbeat. The Dancin’ Bare, which was built in 1945 and operated as an Italian restaurant called the Stone Pony before it became a strip club, is not the only Portland performance venue to shift away from the sex industry in recent years. A longtime strip club on Southeast Foster known most recently as Trophy’s Exotic Lounge, and before that as Shimmers, is slated to reopen as a 150-capacity live-music club in October. Southeast Portland’s Oregon Theater, which operated as an adult-movie theater from the 1970s until March 2020, has been operating since 2023 as the Tomorrow Theater, with Friends of Noise teaches young artists the tools of the trade, including business skills for musicians. 37
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